Sacrilege
by xohwowlovelyx
Summary: When a riot breaks out in Gotham City's infamous Arkham Asylum, a young nurse, Tess Danvers, finds herself living in her own personal hell. The inmates are torturing and killing all Asylum personal with no fear of the missing Dark Knight showing up. Matters only get worse for Tess when she lands on the radar of the notorious Bane.


( ** **disclaimer:**** I do not own any of the DC comic characters. I only take credit for my OC, Tess Danvers. Any likeliness to other stories is purely coincidental. Please leave any feedback _—_ I love reading all of your comments!)

"I AM TO BE LIONEARTED, BUT MY HANDS STILL SHAKE AND MY VOICE ISN'T QUITE LOUD ENOUGH."

 _Michelle K.,_ _ _Earning Your Roar__

 _• • •_

The cool night air filled Tess's lungs as her feet hit the pavement below her. A deep orange began to fill the sky as the sun slowly settled in for the night. She hated running and found zero joy in the activity, but with her shift at the hospital tonight making it impossible for her to attend her martial arts class, this was as good as it was going to get. Part of her wished she was blessed with more gracious movements like that of a dancer. She had attempted ballet at seven years old but spent the majority of class slipping around like a newborn deer. If it wasn't for her older brother, Owen, Tess would have never found herself in love with martial arts. Starting at a young age, Tess looked up to her brother and followed in his footsteps with whatever activity he took up. Video games only held her interest for so long and she most definitely wasn't skilled artistically like he was. The sport of being able to defend oneself gave the brunette a sense of self-confidence that she had lacked in her younger years.

"Done," Tess mumbled to herself as she glanced down at her watch, happily knowing that the self-inflicted pain of running was over for today. With her usual thirty minutes to spare before her shift, Tess grabbed her athletic bag and her Nurse ID badge that was lazily clipped to the shoulder strap. Looking up, she felt her upbeat mood slightly diminish as she glanced up at the worn sign in front of her that read _ARKHAM ASYLUM_. Maybe she should get a gym membership where she'd actually run on a real track as opposed to the outer entrance of Arkham. It most definitely wasn't ideal, but it did save time on her commute and it wasn't like she exactly ran here daily. Besides, security at Arkham was considerably high and things had been kept relatively quiet since the Joker terrorized Gotham eight whole years ago. Becoming a nurse at the infamous asylum wasn't exactly her goal when she completed her nursing degree, but it was a high paying job and it's not like she could wish away her student loans. Besides, after working at Arkham for four years, Tess had grown quite accustomed to brushing off threats and remarks the inmates would make towards her whenever she treated a patient. This job wasn't for the weak of heart and while it did take a while to get accustomed to, the twenty-eight year old learned how to survive in such surroundings.

Approaching the doors of the asylum, Tess fell into her usual post-run routine. Scan badge, enter employee corridor, say hello to tonight's security officer, fill up a styrofoam cup full of black coffee from the cheap machine and lastly take a quick glance at how many files were on the desk with information on who need to be treated It was a mundane routine for the most part until she saw her patients. That changed nightly and Tess was never sure what sort of crazy she'd have to deal with. Luckily for her, she never had to deal with the infamous monsters the Dark Knight had locked up. They were reserved for those who had been in the medical field longer and who were unafraid of the death threats. Most of the time the threats were simply just that, but even Tess knew some had been carried out. The West part of Arkham Asylum housed the worst of the worst and Tess knew she'd never be ready for the repercussions of working over there.

Yanking the door open to the locker room, Tess set her gym bag down on the nearest bench. She was looking forward to showering and being able to rid herself of this tank top that clung too tight thanks to the humidity of the ending summer season. A loud and quick screech filled the locker room as she turned the shower knob. Watching the water spray onto the tiled floor, Tess was about to slide off her athletic pants until she heard a voice call out to her. Startled, she quickly turned around to see Dr. Burke standing in the doorway with an urgent look on her face.

"We need you right away," Dr. Burke quickly spoke, "there's been an incident."

Without hesitation, Tess shut off the shower and made her way over to the red haired doctor. She was hoping that this meant they were purely understaffed and her burning need for Tess wasn't caused by something disastrous.

"Yeah, I'll be right out. Let me just change into my —"  
"No," Dr. Burke interrupted Tess as she glanced from the hallway back to the brunette, "there is no time to waste. We must go now."

Deciding their would be no argument with her current attire, Tess grabbed her badge from the bench and quickly clipped it onto her top as she followed her superior. Keeping up with Dr. Burke was no easy task as she maneuvered through the halls with such a speed that caused even Tess to feel her legs strain. So many questions where running through her head but she knew if she asked them out loud they'd fall on deaf ears. Corridors began to look the same and their whereabouts seemed to become less familiar after each turn they'd take. __There's the medical storage__ _,_ Tess thought to herself as she passed the familiar room. She'd been there hundreds of times to gather supplies such as gauze and medical tape. Still, they continued on into a new and unknown territory for Tess. Security guards seemed to have suddenly doubled, cameras were mounted on the walls with only a few feet of space in between each one and bright lights glared harshly from the ceiling as they illuminated every inch of the hallway. With each step she took, Tess could slowly feel the blood in her veins run cold as her heart betrayed her with its anxious rhythm. It wasn't long before they were standing right in front of the sign Tess feared most.

"Open up!" Dr. Burke barked at the security guard to the right who was behind a protective window.

As the metal doors slowly began to open, Tess caught on to the loud yelling and banging of glass on the other side. The noise began to blend like a unified song and she wasn't sure what exactly she was hearing anymore. Subconsciously taking a deep breath in, Tess looked above the metal door frame to the words she feared the most —

 _ _ARKHAM'S PENITENTIARY.__


End file.
